Abraxas (album)

This article is about the 1970 album by Santana. For the 2013 album by Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz composed by John Zorn, see Abraxas: Book of Angels Volume 19.
Abraxas

Album cover from a painting by Mati Klarwein
Studio album by Santana
Released September 1970 (1970-09)
Recorded April 17–May 2, 1970 at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, California
Genre Latin rock, chicano rock, jazz-rock, psychedelic rock, blues rock, hard rock
Length 37:32
Label CBS
KC-30130
Producer Fred Catero, Carlos Santana
Santana chronology
Santana
(1969)		 Abraxas
(1970)		 Santana III
(1971)
Singles from Abraxas
  1. "Black Magic Woman"
    Released: 1970
  2. "Oye Como Va"
    Released: 1971
  3. "Hope You're Feeling Better"
    Released: 1971

Abraxas is the second studio album by latin rock band Santana. Consolidating the interest generated by their first album, Santana (recorded in May 1969), and their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969, the band followed-up with Abraxas in September 1970. The album's mix of rock, blues, jazz, salsa and other influences was very well received, showing a musical maturation from their first album and refining the band's early sound.

In 2016, the album was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry due to its "cultural, historic, or artistic significance."[1]

Name

The title of the album, which features Mati Klarwein's 1961 painting, Annunciation, on the cover,[2] comes from a line in Hermann Hesse's book, Demian, quoted on the album's back cover: "We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas...." The word "Abraxas" has use within Gnostic cosmology.[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Robert ChristgauC+[5]
Rolling Stonefavorable[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

Music

Abraxas features a mixture of Latin influences with familiar rock themes such as showcased electric guitar, organ, and heavy drums. The album also demonstrates Santana's stylistic versatility, including tracks such as "Samba Pa Ti" (a classic slow-burning piece)[8] and "Incident at Neshabur", both being instrumentals. The latter has several rhythm and time signature changes consistent with its jazz feel. Latin percussion — congas, bongos and timbales, as well as a conventional rock drum setup, expanded Santana's foray into Latin rhythm. The piece 'Samba Pa Ti' was originally recorded in the key of G, and is in fact two separate unfinished pieces which were combined to a single piece comprising a slow emotive first part followed by an extended play out in a faster tempo; This piece along with 'Black Magic Woman,' written by Peter Green, helped underpin the truly unique blend of Latin American / Blues / Rock style created by the artist.

Legacy

In 2003 the album was ranked number 207 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[9]

The instrumental, "Samba Pa Ti" ("Samba for You"), was covered by José Feliciano, who added lyrics, and also by Angélique Kidjo, who put lyrics in Yoruba on her album Oyo. It is also one of the tracks featured in Nick Hornby's book, 31 Songs. It was used in the UK as the background music for TV ads for Marks & Spencer food in 2006. It also was featured as the ending song in the Cold Case episode, "Dead Heat", which aired November 8, 2009.

Abraxas was deemed "culturally, historically, or artistically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in their National Recording Registry in 2016.

Track listing

LP side 1
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" (Instrumental)Mike Carabello 4:51
2. "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen"  Peter Green/Gábor Szabó 5:24
3. "Oye Como Va"  Tito Puente 4:17
4. "Incident at Neshabur" (Instrumental)Alberto Gianquinto, Carlos Santana 4:58
LP side 2
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Se a Cabo"  José Areas 2:50
2. "Mother's Daughter"  Gregg Rolie 4:25
3. "Samba Pa Ti" (Instrumental)Santana 4:45
4. "Hope You're Feeling Better"  Rolie 4:10
5. "El Nicoya"  Areas 1:30

Later re-issues

1998 remastered edition
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" (Instrumental)Carabello 4:51
2. "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen"  Green/Szabó 5:22
3. "Oye Como Va"  Puente 4:16
4. "Incident at Neshabur" (Instrumental)Gianquinto, Santana 4:57
5. "Se a Cabo"  Areas 2:50
6. "Mother's Daughter"  Rolie 4:25
7. "Samba Pa Ti" (Instrumental)Santana 4:45
8. "Hope You're Feeling Better"  Rolie 4:11
9. "El Nicoya"  Areas 1:30
10. "Se a Cabo" (Live at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England, April 14, 1970)[10] (1998 edition)  3:47
11. "Toussaint L'Overture" (Live at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England, April 14, 1970) (1998 edition)  4:52
12. "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" (Live at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England, April 14, 1970) (1998 edition)  4:57

While the original track listing lists track 5 as "Se a Cabo", the correct Spanish spelling for the phrase is "se acabó", meaning "it's over".

Versions

Personnel

Additional personnel

Chart tables

Album

Year Album details Peak chart positions
US AUS AUT CAN FRA NLD NZL NOR SWE SWI UK
1970 1 1 — 2 7 7 — 3 — — 7
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions
US US Rock US AC US AP AUS CAN NLD GER NZL SWI UK
1970 "Black Magic Woman" 4 — — — 15 4 — 14 — — —
1971 "Oye Como Va" 13 — — — 13 5 16 29 — — —
"Hope You're Feeling Better" — — — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[11] 3× Platinum 300,000
France (SNEP)[12] Platinum 300,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Gold 100,000
United States (RIAA)[14] 5× Platinum 5,000,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

In popular culture

The album is a recurring plot point in the 2009 Coen Brothers movie A Serious Man.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2016/16-056.html
  2. ↑ Young, Rob, "lush life. mati klarwein" John Hassel atmospherics, www.jonhassell.com/mati. Accessed 2013 July 18.
  3. ↑ Cf. Hippolytus, Refutatio, vii. 14; Irenaeus, Adversus hæreses, I. xxiv. 7
  4. ↑ Henderson, Alex. Abraxas (album) at AllMusic. Retrieved 2005-09-15.
  5. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Santana: Abraxas > Consumer Guide Album". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2006-03-09.
  6. ↑ Nash, Jim (December 24, 1970). "Santana Abraxas > Album Review". Rolling Stone (73). Archived from the original on 2007-01-16. Retrieved 2006-07-25.
  7. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). "Santana". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. pp. 717–718. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Portions posted at "Santana > Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
  8. ↑ 31 Songs by Nick Hornby
  9. ↑ Levy, Joe; Steven Van Zandt (2006) [2005]. "205 | Abraxas - Santana". Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (3rd ed.). London: Turnaround. ISBN 1-932958-61-4. OCLC 70672814. Archived from the original on 6 November 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2006.
  10. ↑ Discogs - Abraxas 1998 reMastered CD, Columbia / Legacy (CK 65490) US
  11. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Santana – Abraxas". Music Canada.
  12. ↑ "French album certifications – Santana – Abraxas" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  13. ↑ "British album certifications – Santana – Abraxas". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Abraxas in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  14. ↑ "American album certifications – Santana – Abraxas". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
Preceded by
Cosmo's Factory
by Creedence Clearwater Revival		 Billboard 200 number-one album
October 24–30, 1970
November 28, 1970 – January 1, 1971 		Succeeded by
Led Zeppelin III by Led Zeppelin
All Things Must Pass by George Harrison
Preceded by
Led Zeppelin III by Led Zeppelin		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
February 22–28, 1971 		Succeeded by
Pendulum
by Creedence Clearwater Revival
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